Michigan and Washington are scheduled to hold caucuses Saturday - followed by Maine on Sunday.
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John Kerry opened up a big lead in Michigan with 53% - Gephardt endorsed him - it seems Kerry doesn’t want Gephardt to retire from politics after the endorsement he got. 
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has already endorsed Kerry - and also Rep. John Dingell - Kerry’s opponents are trailing bigtime in polls - and he is virtually unchallenged on this weekend caucuses.
Gephardt endorses Kerry
WARREN, Michigan (CNN) – Former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, whose presidential campaign foundered last month, threw his support Friday to Democratic front-runner Sen. John Kerry.
Kerry’s campaign has hopes that an endorsement from Gephardt, a longtime favorite of organized labor, will help him consolidate his standing in Michigan, a big union state, and beyond.
Polls have shown Kerry comfortably ahead of his rivals in Michigan’s caucuses Saturday.
**“To beat George Bush, we need a leader who can go toe-to-toe with George Bush in these difficult, dangerous times on national security, toe-to-toe,” Gephardt said in a rally with Kerry in Warren.
“We need a leader who can defeat George Bush in November in the general election, and we need a leader who we all know can walk into that Oval Office tomorrow afternoon and be a great president of the United States. That leader is John Kerry, and I’m proud to endorse him to be the president of the United States of America.” **
Gephardt dropped out of the Democratic race after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses in January.
On Friday, Kerry expressed his respect for Gephardt, saying they had worked together in Congress for 20 years.
**"Again and again and again, I’ve watched him not play politics but talk about people’s needs, talk about the urgent pressing priorities of this country, and I am grateful for his being here, the Massachutts senator said.
“I’m grateful for his support, and Dick, you may think that you and [your wife] Jane have earned yourselves a vacation, but we’ve got a lot of work for you to do, and you’re going to be working in this thing for a long time to come.” **
At the rally, Kerry also picked up the endorsement of U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm backed Kerry this week, too.
Reaction from Kerry’s rivals was muted when word of Gephardt’s endorsement leaked Thursday night.
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